Community Foundation launched by garden room builders Rubicon Garden Rooms to support local good causes

A pioneering garden room company that uses aviation technology to create outdoor offices, spas, gyms and studios, has launched a Community Foundation to help local good causes with a cash boost.

Flintshire firm Rubicon Garden Rooms is asking community groups, projects, associations, locally based charities and even individuals who need support in North East Wales, to apply for a donation of between £100 and £500.

Rubicon Garden Rooms Managing Director John Lyon, said he wants to give something back to the area where the firm is based, after celebrating five years specialising in the garden room business and now being on track for a record £1m turnover this year.

The Rubicon Garden Rooms Community Foundation is being backed by Mark Tami, MP for Alyn and Deeside, who visited the firm’s showrooms on Deeside Enterprise estate to launch the foundation.

Anyone championing a local cause in Flintshire or Wrexham, can apply to receive a donation of between £100 and £500, with an initial pot of £2,000 to be distributed this year.
Mark said:

“I think the idea of setting up a Community Foundation is a really good one. Whatever the size of the business, big or small, I think it really helps to show that yes you are a growing business and that you’re also prepared to put something back into the local area as well.

“Even relatively small sums of money can make a big difference to a five-aside football team or a Girl Guides troupe.

“It shows that Rubicon, a local company that employs local people, has a big heart because this is something you don’t have to do but it is certainly very worthwhile.”

John, a former Airbus engineer, set up the business after spotting a demand from people working from home or running business from home, who needed extra space to improve their work life balance.

He said:

“We’ve come a long way in the last five years. It’s been quite a journey growing the business to this point where we are on track for our first £1m turnover.

“We’d like to give something back to the local community and we decided the best way was to launch this Community Foundation.

“We’ve set aside a £2,000 fund to begin with and if it’s successful hopefully we can continue it in future.”

“We are very grateful to the local community for their support over the last five years and we thought it would be nice to give something back.

“We want to share some out among worthy causes in North East Wales.

“There is a fantastic community spirit in this area and if we can just do a little bit to help then that will make us very happy.”
Anyone based Flintshire or Wrexham can apply for a donation of up to £500.

“It doesn’t matter if that is a group, charity, project or even an individual who needs support, we just want people to tell us about what they are doing,” said John.

“We are excited to read the applications to see who we can help.”

Rubicon Garden Rooms makes bespoke zero maintenance garden rooms using aircraft technology learned by managing director John Lyon when he previously worked as an engineer at Airbus.

The company now makes around 40-50 garden rooms a year for clients across the UK including in Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and further afield in London, Halifax, Leicester and Bristol.

The bespoke, top of the range modular buildings have helped several businesses to expand by creating outdoor office space and meeting rooms which are fully insulated for year-round use, and plumbed in with kitchens and toilets, cutting overheads for company rent.

The rooms, manufactured at their workshop and erected on site, are popular with home workers who improve their work-life balance by using outside space to keep work separate from family life, and cut out commutes.

Rubicon’s buildings have also proved a hit with pensioners, artists, musicians and craft makers who use the rooms to enjoy hobbies from sewing and model making, to recording tracks, painting.
They are also popular with fitness fans who have used the space to create home gyms, yoga studios and even house swimming pools and spas. They’ve even been commissioned as outdoor cinemas for private individuals and schools.

The company also worked on a larger café to build a café for North Clwyd Animal Rescue (NCAR) , a one-off project at Trelogan, near Holywell.

Managing director John Lyon said:

“It’s been a fantastic journey. It’s great to see the business go from strength to strength.

“We now have ten staff, two apprentices and four contractors all working hard to provide our customers with the best solutions for their individual circumstances.

“Our team are now booked up months in advance which gives us certainty and the confidence to invest to move the business forward.

“We’re delighted to be in a position to be able to give something back to our community and we’re looking forward to hearing from local groups.”

Anyone who would like to apply can email rubicongardenrooms@gmail.com for an application form. This includes supplying contact details for the project, group, or individual who will benefit, and a short explanation of how the money will be used.